Labour faces union backlash after minister says living wage extension to over-18s not certain before election – as it happened
Alan Milburn has suggested that the government should reconsider its commitment to applying the national living wage to all individuals over 18. His comments follow a report on the increasing number of young people not in education, employment, or training. Labour's manifesto promises to equalize minimum wage rates, but the timeline for this change remains unclear.
- ▪Alan Milburn proposed changes to the national living wage system to encourage hiring of young people.
- ▪Labour's manifesto commits to equalizing minimum wage rates but does not specify a timeline.
- ▪The TUC warns that reducing the minimum wage for young workers would be a mistake.
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6m ago04.23 EDTGood morning. Last night Alan Milburn suggested that he would like the government to drop its commitment to pay all people over the age of 18 the national living wage. The former Labour health secretary was speaking after he published a major report on the rise in the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) and he implied that when the final report is published in the autumn, with policy recommendations, it will propose changes to the national living wage/minimum wage system to encourage more firms to hire young people. A change to the “discriminatory age bands” policy seems to be quite high up his list of demands.For the record, this is what Labour said in its manifesto.
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